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When you’ve made the decision to invest in a resin flooring system, you want to get it right – so that means selecting the right specialist contractor for your project.
At Central Flooring, we’re members of the Resin Flooring Association (FeRFA). Our Directors, Kyle Stokes and Richard Jinks have also both served on FeRFA Council – and more recently, Richard was elected Vice Chairman. Based on our 30-plus years of resin flooring experience, we’ve drawn up a list of questions to ask the contractor you’re considering.
1. Make sure your contractor is a member of FeRFA.
Okay, you may ask, but why? The Resin Flooring Association has been protecting the industry for over 50 years, leading the way in providing advice, guidance and training support. They have strict criteria and standards – so if your contractor is a member, you can rest assured that you’re in capable hands. The same applies to flooring manufacturers – if you’re working directly with a manufacturer, check that they’re a member too. FeRFA supports 130 leading organisations – 23 Associates, 84 Contractors and 23 Manufacturers.
2. What do their customers say about them?
There’s no better reference than customer testimonials. Firms that have robust ‘success stories’ usually showcase these on their website – so that’s a good place to start. If you’re a main contractor, for example, and you want the reassurance that your resin flooring contractor is familiar with your sector, ask them who they work with. Have they got testimonials from main contractors – or would they be willing for you to talk to some of their customers? We’d have no problem with this request. You may also want to check out their social media accounts –
Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter can paint a clear picture of who the contractor is engaging with, and their professional performance.
3. Have you asked to see some of their past projects?
If you’re looking for a specific resin flooring system, for example, Quartz Screeding, ask your contractor to arrange one or two customer site visits where they’ve installed the same or similar floors. Ideally, you want to visit sites where the floors have been in-situ for at least 12-months – this way you can see how well they’re performing – plus, it’ll give you the opportunity to get first hand feedback from these customers. This is something we actively encourage our own customers to do because we want them to be reassured that we know what we’re doing. It’s something they tell us they value. We’d also recommend you ask to see their back catalogue of projects – how experienced are they?
4. Have you done a credit check?
Resin flooring systems are an investment – so you want to be sure that the contractor you’re working with is financially stable. You want to be confident that they can finance the project. You also want to be sure that if something goes wrong with your floor after 12-months, that they’re still going to be in business to honour their warranty – more on warranties next. So, check how long they’ve been trading along with their credit score. You can do this with Experian or Equifax – there are others, but these are two trusted names. Companies House is another way of checking how well they’re doing.
5. What are their warranty terms?
Warranties are important whether you’re buying a car, a mobile phone or epoxy resin flooring. So it’s always best to check this out. Usually, your contractor will offer a warranty on their workmanship and the manufacturer will offer a warranty on materials. Before committing to the project, make sure the warranty you’re offered is clearly specified in your written quotation. Full warranties with Central Flooring vary from 2 – 10 years and is dependent on the floor specification you’ve chosen. We include our own warranty on any installation work and the manufacturer guarantees their product. Every floor we install is in line with FeRFA guidelines.
6. Which accreditations do they hold?
These all show a level of commitment and professionalism. Which management systems do they operate – ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 – or, all three? Are they health and safety accredited with professional bodies such as CHAS, Safe Contractor and Constructionline? Are they part of the Considerate Constructors Scheme? And as we mentioned earlier – are they a member of FeRFA? You can see all of our accreditations on our website.
7. Are their installation teams and contracts managers trained and qualified?
All professional resin floor installers should be able to offer you properly trained and qualified teams. FeRFA, for example, offers NVQ Level 2 through to Level 6 training courses and certification schemes for resin floor installers, supervisors, and managers. A flooring company that can provide you with trained, validated technicians is a company that can guarantee quality. At Central Flooring we’re big on training. Our contracts managers are trained to NVQ Level 6 in Project and Contractor Management, and we support our installation team through their In-Situ Resin Flooring NVQ Level 2.
8. Does your contractor have a good working relationship with resin manufacturers?
If you select a Vebro Polymers, Resdev or Altro resin flooring system, for example – we’d recommend you talk to the manufacturer. Does your contractor have a good working relationship with them? How familiar are they installing these branded systems? How many have they installed? At Central, we’re approved installers for almost every resin flooring manufacturer there is – including Vebro, Altro, Ucrete, Resdev and Flowcrete, to name just a few. We’re also specialists in Quartz Screeding and Underlays – we’re more than happy for you to check us out!
